Park Butte — Monday, Jul. 17, 2023

I solo-hiked Park Butte for sunset photos.

I arrived at the trailhead at 5:30 p.m. and there were 6 parking spots available close to the trailhead.

The elevation gain is a little deceiving with this hike because there is very little elevation to the first mile. It's more like a mile stroll through the woods followed by a 2.5 mile hike with 2,000 ft. elevation gain. The trail is in great shape so the climb up seemed pretty easy with good rhythm to the steps.

After a short diversion up the Railroad Grade I arrived at the tarns below the lookout at around 7:45 p.m.

The tarns are full of water and the landscape is beautiful right now but there were surprisingly few wildflowers other than mountain heather.

After taking photos I headed up to the lookout, which was occupied by a couple who tent-camped the night before and waited for the first-come-first-served lookout to be available. There were several other tent campers on the trail below the lookout camping in areas that weren't officially designated for camping. I wondered if they were waiting for their turn at camping in the lookout.

I hiked down in the dark. The trail was easy to navigate with a good flashlight but the dry riverbed area took some careful route finding to stay on the trail.

I was surprised to see that the parking lot was full when I arrived back at the trailhead. There were plenty of parking spaces along the road. I imagine that parking can be a challenge on the weekends.